3 South American Men Convicted by San Diego Jury of Trafficking $28 Million Worth of Cocaine by Sea

On Dec. 31, 2017, a U.S. Coast Guard crew spotted a suspicious boat traveling in the eastern Pacific Ocean about 100 nautical miles north of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador; the vessel was carrying more than 2,000 pounds of cocaine

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A jury in a San Diego courtroom Tuesday convicted three South American men of trafficking $28 million worth of cocaine by sea.

The Office of the United States Attorney Southern District of California, Robert S. Brewer Jr., confirmed the jury’s decision in the drug bust case involving Adrian Andres Cortez-Quinones, 24, and Victor Gaspar-Chichande, 29, both of Ecuador, and Segundo Marcial Dominguez-Caicedo, 35, of Colombia.

Brewer’s office said a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter crew spotted the suspicious boat about 100 nautical miles north of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. U.S. Coast Guard officials launched a helicopter and two small boats to intercept the vessel.

According to prosecutors, as the Coast Guard’s chopper closed in on the smuggling suspects, the men stopped their boat to avoid detection. As the chopper circled the boat, the defendants tried to flee but couldn’t.

When they realized they weren’t going to outrun Coast Guard officials, Cortez-Quinones, Gaspar-Chichande, and Dominguez-Caicedo, stopped their boat again and began throwing dozens of bundles of cocaine overboard.

A photo presented to the jury during the trio’s trial showed the moment when they threw the drugs into the ocean.

Cortez-Quinones, Gaspar-Chichande, and Dominguez-Caicedo were each charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine onboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, as well as possession with the intent to distribute cocaine onboard a vessel.

Brewer’s office said Wednesday the maximum penalty for the charges is life in prison, plus a $10 million fine.

“The high seas are not a secret freeway for narco-traffickers to cross with impunity,” Brewer said in a press release. “This verdict is proof that we are watching, and we will take whatever action necessary to prevent these dangerous drugs from hitting our streets. I appreciate the efforts of prosecutors Kevin Mokhtari, Ari Fitzwater and Emily Gibbons and our partners at the Coast Guard and the DEA. Their hard work has led to this outcome.”

Eleventh Coast Guard District Commander, Rear Admiral Peter W. Gautier said this drug bust is “just one example of the thousands of kilograms of narcotics seized every month by the Coast Guard.”

In addition to the U.S. Coast Guard and DEA, this case was investigated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, which brings together several federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in an effort to dismantle and prosecute high-level members of drug and weapons trafficking.